some of the numbers that we had today. at this point so far we show 130 plus arrests. we show recovery of assorted narcotics being crack cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin, a large amount of marijuana, meth amphetamine, assorted pills and also six firearms. included in that six firearms we recovered one tech nine machine pistol, which is a very dangerous weapon, if you have to face it on the street. you win today, tomorrow's a new day. so what we have to do is you know come back tomorrow, put the equipment on again and we go at it again.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> good morning and welcome to current tv. it's a "full court press." don't worry. i'm not bill press but he's here. he's live. he's in the building. hi bill. >> bill: hey hey hey hey. i have half a voice and one word per hour. >> which is great because i have half a brain. with half of your voice and half my brain we'll get through the show. >> bill: this hour, my word is brandy. >> i'm peter ogborn sitting in for bill press today. the revolving door in washington continues to turn. and cabinet secretary has resigned out of the obama administration. who was it? well tell you in just a few

moments. first, we'll go to out to los angeles, our current news update with lisa ferguson. >> hey peter. good morning bill. good morning everyone. more gun debate as vice president joe biden takes on a new round of meetings along with attorney general eric holder. first they'll speak with wildlife and sporting groups at 11:45 this morning. on to gun owner's groups including the nra and representatives from the entertainment industry this evening. kathleen sebelius wills attend some of the meetings. it is a big step for president obama's new gun violence task force launched in the wake of the massacre at sandy hook elementary. but it did not necessarily leave many with high expectations. businesses that sell a lot of guns like walmart will also be in on some meetings. those groups are more likely to be influenced by the nra since they're making a big profit off those firearms. and they do not want to appear

too entrenched in the white house's anti-gun push. walmart says after the shooting, guns are now one of their highest-selling items. while it does want to help the administration, when that starts to contradict with sales that's where the help stops. the nra obviously has a lot of money and therefore a lot of power going into these talks but gabby giffords' new anti-gun group is looking to counteract that. she and her husband mark kelly kick started a campaign this week that they're calling common sense measures to curb gun violence. now, they're hoping to raise $20 million for the 2014 congressional elections. that would match the nra's spending on last year's vote. both giffords and her husband are gun owners and they say while they support second amendment rights, it is time for this violence to stop. more peter and more bill coming up after the break. we're live in our chat room, current.com/billpress.

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> good morning and welcome to thursday january 10, 2013. it is the "full court press." the "bill press show." i'm peter ogborn. i am here with bill press. bill is here. hi bill. >> bill: hello hello. i'm here. halfway here. >> for those who have been following the show this week -- >> bill: all the way here. >> you're all the way here in spirit. you're halfway here in voice. you've been fighting a voice issue this week. we were lucky to have richard fowler sit in a couple of days while you were resting your voice. you're here today. still clearly you've got a little bit of issue with the

pipes but you wanted to be here today and you've got enough to sit in with me which i'm now drunk with power. >> bill: well, enjoy it while you can. >> 1-866-55-press is our phone number. feel free to weigh in and join the conversation at any time during the show. our web site is billpressshow.com. all throughout the show, we're still tweeting at bpshow. find us there at bp show. you can find all of the information you need right there on twitter. again, welcome to thursday. and boy, we've got a lot of stuff to talk about. >> bill: it feels weird to be sitting here. >> peter: how do you think i feel buddy? for those of you who have never had to do your boss's job while your boss watches on, i'm basically having a nightmare right now. >> bill: if you look at your tv or radio and think you've turn and it upside down, maybe you have. >> i like to sit here behind the glass and watch you sweat

bullets. >> peter: dan henning running the board. phil backert screening your calls and cyprian cyprian bowlding on the video operation trying to make us look good. bill is just waving. we have a big show. we brought in heavy hitters. jennifer bendery from "the huffington post" will be joining us along with congressman elijah cummings from maryland. in the third hour, we'll be joined by bob cusack from the hill and juana summers. the revolving door of washington continues to turn. secretary of labor hilda solis announced she's resigning. she's stepping away as cabinet secretary at the department of labor. very good to us. she's done a great job. >> bill: long time friend of mine. we go back to when we were -- i was doing tv i guess in l.a. and she was working in some --

immigration groups in los angeles. we've known each other a long time. then she went to the state assembly and the united states congress. she's a great great person. she's been, i think a very good labor secretary. i hate to see her go. as you said, she's been a good friend of the show. every monday after the job numbers came out on friday, first monday of every month hilda solis in studio talking about it. >> peter: you can't deny that you know, that job numbers continually, gradually ticking up up, up, up, while she was secretary of labor. so if that's your criteria of how good of a job she did, she did a damn good job. >> bill: first latina in that position. great credit to the obama administration. >> peter: speaking of people who we don't hold in such high regard... aig yesterday. we've talked a lot about this lawsuit. they're suing the government after the government bailed them out, they're saying they maybe

robbed them of some money. >> bill: their investors. >> peter: whether or not the current leadership of aig would get involved in the lawsuit. yesterday they said you know what? we're going to stay away from this one. very smart. nobody tackled this better than the daily show with john stuart. of course, he had something to say about it last night. >> what aig is doing, is shock. they put the a in [ bleep ] >> peter: joe biden is meeting with walmart about gun control. he's been tasked with handling gun control. he's going to do something about gun control. i think it is great that joe biden is taking this on and we're going to talk about that in just a few moments. but first... >> this is the "full court press." >> on this thursday, three other things you need to know before

you head out the door. baseball's hall of fame elections held yesterday and for just the second time in 40 years, nobody was elected to the hall of fame. the election happens yearly with members of the baseball writer's association where candidates need 75% of the vote to get into the hall. the top candidates yesterday all accused steroid users. barry bonds, roger clemens sammy sosa. bonds got just 36% of the vote. the top vote getter was crig visio with 36%. 39 votes shy of getting into the hall. >> peter: i didn't see that coming. that they would shut everybody out. >> bill: i think it's great. >> peter: i kind of agree. if you think about -- >> bill: it makes a statement. >> peter: barry bonds, there is no bigger figure, as we go on, he holds maybe the most coveted record in all of baseball. he couldn't even get where he needed to be. >> details about the inauguration ceremony coming out

including who will perform on stage when president obama is sworn into his second term on january 21st. joint committee on inaugural ceremonies announcing beyonce will sing the national anthem. kelly clarkson will sing my country tis of thee and america the beautiful. >> peter: the first inauguration, it was the marine corps band. they didn't have any stars performing at the inauguration the first time around. >> bill: i think kelly clarkson performed at maybe bush's inauguration or something right after she won "american idol." >> and beyonce sang "at last" at the inaugural ball. >> peter: the actual inauguration ceremony seems to have gotten a little more entertaining. >> kelly clarkson of course, a ron paul spond supporter. bill clinton has big titles. former president philanthropist and father of the year.

>> peter: damn i lost again! >> father of the year for his profound dedication and he will be honored at a luncheon this summer. >> bill: peter i think if magnus and gray had voted -- it would be 2-1. >> peter: there's always next year. 13 minutes past the hour. it is the "bill press show." bill press is here. we're taking your calls at 1-866-55-press. i mentioned we're tweeting at bp show. we've already gotten a couple of comments by the way. who is phil backert. no one ever sees phil on camera. phil maybe today we will actually put you on camera. not so fast. >> bill: i was watching at home yesterday because i was nursing my voice again. and i could see phil -- there's a shot over my shoulder -- over your shoulder through the

monitor there and you can see phil answering the phones. >> peter: no kidding. oh wow. hey, ladies. >> bill: those watching at home on current do get an occasional glimpse of phil. >> peter: we were concerned when you were home yesterday, we had gotten so many people e-mailing and calling with remedies for your sore throat. >> bill: i called them all out. >> peter: they were all with alcohol. we were afraid you may be drunk. today is a big day. joe biden has been tasked to work on some solutions for gun control in this country. and he's going to meet with walmart. he had already announced he was going to meet with the nra. the white house extended their invitation to walmart which walmart declined by the way and they got a lot of heat for it. they said they had scheduling issues. when the white house calls and says we would like to meet you and you say we're busy, you should maybe re-examine your priorities. joe biden will be meeting with walmart. it will be curious to see how he

handles that. it is this topic of gun control in this country. which is amazing that we're having this conversation because both you and i have worked in talk radio for a long time. it used to be one of the subjects that people didn't like to talk about. but the time has come and the tide has turned where it is something we need to talk about. everybody realizes that. people who didn't want to talk about gun control realize it is time to talk about gun control. two governors giving their state of the state yesterday who have been touched by gun control and gun violence in their states, starting with andrew cuomo in new york talking about gun control in his state of the state. >> we must stop the maddens my friends. and in one word, it's just enough. it has been enough. >> peter: and nobody has been hit with it more than connecticut governor dan malloy

who in his state of the state tbawkd more guns aren't the answer. >> when it comes to preventing future acts of violence in our schools, let me say this... more guns are not the answer! [ applause ] >> peter: governor malloy there on the scene and very hands on in the newtown connect, shooting and tragedy. saying right now anybody who thinks and agrees with what wayne lapierrre of the nra who said the only thing that could stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. governor malloy shot that down in the state of the state which was very important. >> bill: you know, i think we're finally getting a move on in this country on this issue and we should. shame on all of us for -- as you pointed out those of us -- i said this early on in talk radio, we should be talking more about it than we were. we just kind of buried the issue. the assault weapons ban expires. it has been over ten years. we haven't renewed it.

but this time, i think look what happened yesterday. governor cuomo. governor malloy. joe biden had another meeting yesterday. joe biden meets with the nra today and then he meets with walmart. gabby giffords, second anniversary. she and her husband launch a new effort toward sensible gun measures. and doing something about gun violence. on monday, the parents of newtown, connecticut are holding a news conference to announce their effort to do something about gun violence in america. the nra is not going to be able to stop us this time. >> peter: you're right. this is a very crucial time because it is a moment where everybody says we've got to do something but what do you do? so leaders are emerging. ideas are emerging. at the front of that is joe biden and he talked yesterday, he says we've got to do something. >> which are not going to get caught up in the notion unless we can do everything, we're going to do nothing.

it is critically important we act. >> peter: i think that this meeting with -- the meeting with the nra i think is important. i think that the meeting with walmart is more important because the nra is sort of a dinosaur and once wayne lapierrre showed how utterly crazy he was, i think a lot of people said we can't get behind that. here are some statistics on walmart after remember they could not meet with joe biden. they've now changed. they're going to meet with joe biden. walmart currently sells firearms in more than 1700 of its u.s. stores. that's half of their stores. in recent years they wavered on their commitments to selling guns. they backed off selling them. in 2011, after they restricted gun sales to only a third of its store, they reintroduced them to many location citing customer demand. people are buying guns at walmart. they're buying guns at walmart. what joe biden is proposing and what he wants to talk to walmart

about is putting better, more strict background checks, not only on walmart but on the gun shows and dealers in those areas which, in the end, would be good for walmart. >> bill: two quick things. i love the fact, the headline on politico this morning okay. expectations low for biden nra talks. yeah no kidding as if the nra is going to budge at all. more important thing i think is major garrett reported, our friend major garrett on cbs that the things that the biden task force so far are look at are reasonable measures, one renewing the assault weapons ban and adding a ban on the multi-- >> peter: the multiple rounds of ammo. >> bill: then closing the gun check loopholes so you have a check not only at gun stores but at gun shows and one on one

sales and that kind of stuff. maybe doing something about a federal buyback program. that's worked at some cities and some states. >> peter: they did it in los angeles. someone brought in a bazooka to a gun buyback program in los angeles. >> bill: so they're not talking about sending atf agents into your home to confiscate all guns at all. we're talking about reasonable, sensible, common sense measures that everybody could support. >> peter: it is very important about the nra low expectations. they showed their hand when wayne lapierrre held his press conference. >> bill: nuts. >> peter: not only is he insane but as an organization overall, they're not willing to budge. they're not willing to concede that maybe we have a problem with guns in this country. so the idea that biden should have to go to the nra and say look, you know, you guys make a lot of sense. no, he could just say we're not working with you. >> bill: if you look at a person, you want to see the

poster child this is the crazed nut job that we should never allow to buy a gun wayne lapierrre. >> peter: good point. 21 minutes past the hour. 1-866-55-press is our phone number. 557-7333. what do you want to see come out of the meetings? i'm peter ogborn. bill press is here. he will be taking your calls as well. give us a call. this is the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say anything.

v

i want the people who watch our show, to be able to come away armed with the facts, and the arguments to feel confident in their positions. i want them to have the data and i want them to have the passion. but it's also about telling them, you're put on this planet for something more. i want this show to have an impact beyond just informing. an impact that gets people to take action themselves. as a human being, that's really important. this is not just a spectator sport.

>> the president is going to act. there are executive orders and executive action that can be taken. we haven't decided what that is yet but we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and all the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action we believe is required. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> peter: vice president joe biden yesterday talking about gun control saying they're going to get something done even if they look at the possibility of an executive order which freaked out matt drudge yesterday. he put a picture of hitler and stalin side by side when talking about that. unbelievable. >> bill: as we have said many times, when you have -- once you resort to hitler in making any argument, you've lost. >> peter: you've lost. >> bill: it does show, i think, how the other side is panicking. how the nra backers the gun nuts, people who oppose any reasonable form of gun controls

to do something about gun violence, how panicky they are because they know it's over for them. they've lost. >> peter: i'm peter ogborn. that's bill press. 1-866-55-press is our phone number. david calling from hobart, indiana is on the line. david? >> caller: yeah, you know, anybody can buy whatever they want. we've been gutting the mental health system. we had a terrible lack of education. there's no reason why we can't have more firearm awareness in schools. and security officers. but the thing of it is we can pass legislation for laws that prohibit gun sales and weaponry which relatively easy but the other three are going to take a lot of money. that's where the rubber meets

the road if you will. i just don't see our legislatures being brave enough to do any of that. >> peter: that's a good point david. that's the tricky thing with all of this. there is not a one-size-fits-all solution that everybody can agree on. there are a lot of layers to this. you've got the mental health, the education and the actual control on not only guns but the ammunition. >> bill: i saw a guy yesterday at legislative in connecticut saying we can't ban sales on multiple ammunition because that would interfere with people's second amendment rights. that's baloney. b.s. the constitution was written when people have single shot muskets. i'm for allowing a single shot musket in every home in america. >> peter: what's your take? give us a call. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

>> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> peter: it is the "full court press." the "bill press show." i'm peter ogborn. i'm here with bill press helping him out while he rests his voice. he's here. we're taking your calls at 1-866-55-press. we reported earlier this week that tim geithner was leaving. he was no longer going to be treasury secretary. barack obama yesterday it leaked out he was going to nominate jack lew to run the treasury department. he hasn't made the official announcement but it looks like jack lew is going to take that over which means we're going to get a new signature on our flat

money. because you know, the treasury secretary has a signature. bill is checking to see if he has timothy geithner's autograph there on his dollar bills. >> bill: yes. >> peter: he's got a nice, neat little signature. timothy geithner. there is a whole hubbub now over jack lew's signature. are you ready america? to see that on your flat money. if you can't see it is just a squiggly line of a signature. it looks like someone has had too much to drink and tried to draw a caterpillar. >> that's something that someone could forge very easily. >> peter: it looks kind of like a war shock test. there's jack lew's signature right there. tell me what you see. i see a butterfly. that will be very interesting to see that on your money. >> bill: but it should be noted before he came treasury secretary, timothy geithner had

a signature very much like jack lew's. >> peter: that's true. >> bill: he changed his signature so you can read it. on the dollar bill. >> peter: because if you can get jack lew out of that picture, you maybe have had a little too much to drink. >> bill: i think you'll see a different jack lew signature. >> peter: we'll see. we're talking about gun control. vice president joe biden is leading the way. he's leading the task force to find some real, sensible gun control issues in this country. he's meeting with organizations. he's meeting with businesses to try to find out how we solve the problem of gun violence in this country. we're taking your calls at 1-866-55-press. >> bill: before we go to the calls, can i say one tangent here? >> peter: sure. it's your show. >> bill: no, it's not dude. not today. one thing that's going unspoken here is that every time that this administration has had a major mountain to climb they

put joe biden in charge. and he delivers. way back to the stimulus. the first year. >> peter: that's a very good point. >> bill: everything. fiscal cliff negotiations. i can't remember all of the stuff joe biden has been put in charge of. >> peter: it certainly shows the difference between how our former president, george w. bush let dick cheney run and do whatever he wants. it looks like barack obama and joe biden have a really cohesive -- cohesive unit. they work together. they know what their strengths are and -- >> bill: good team. president obama trusts him. joe biden delivers. i think he's been the most effective vice president in our lifetime. >> peter: larry in new briton, connecticut. welcome to the show. call us at 1-866-55-press. >> caller: good morning, guys. >> peter: good morning. >> caller: i would like to say that the nra before they held their press conference a few weeks back after sandy hook,

that i mentioned to my republican friends at work and i'm sure you will understand this, is that the nra we know when they hold that press conference that they're going to blame everybody else but the guns. the guns have nothing to do with it. they're going to blame hollywood. video games. sure enough, they did that. and you know, they did have to change their attitude or else it will become irrelevant some day. >> bill: the sooner the better. >> peter: i think the some day has arrived. i don't think the nra is nearly as relevant as they used to be. they had a moment to come out and say we represent gun owners in this country. we want to see people who own guns and use them responsibly. we want to make sure that they have everything that we can give them but that's not what they did. they had a knee-jerk reaction that went so far in the wrong direction that nobody looks at them as a credible organization

anymore, that is an actual thinking human. >> bill: don't lose sight of the fact there's no more ambitious politician in this country than andrew cuomo. i say that -- that's not a slam. he wants to be president of the united states. he knows that now it's safe to come out for again responsible gun safety measures. >> peter: yeah. paul in northville, michigan. welcome to the "full court press." >> caller: yeah, how do youing. you guys put aren't great show. >> peter: doing what we can, here paul. >> caller: i hope there won't be too many changes with the new owners. >> peter: as soon as we know, you'll know. what's your take on gun control paul? >> caller: i want to respond to the idiotic comment by the nra about bad guys with guns. if you have -- in a public place, if you have a bad guy with a gun and a good guy with a gun, nine times out of ten you're going to end up with a dead good guy. the only solution to a bad guy with a gun is a bad guy with no

gun. >> bill: excellent point. >> peter: i don't think anything highlights this better than a case going on right now in aurora, colorado, the trial of james holmes, the man who shot up the movie theatre during "the dark knight rises." some people said what if the theatre owners -- or theater goers had a gun when they were in the movie theatre. you know what would have happened? you would have had a bunch of people firing off handguns in a dark theatre hitting god knows what. the solution is not to put more guns in the hands of people. it is to have gun control and keep them out of the hands of people who don't need them. >> bill: the 6-year-old girl killed in aurora, colorado, she should have had a handgun in her purse or backpack? give me a break: >> peter: shayna, good morning. >> caller: hi, peter hi, bill. i wanted to agree with your last two callers. i think the nra is irrelevant and the comments they made after

newtown were totally idiotic. i want joe biden to stay on task with what obama initially proposed with the three or four measures. and wanted to invite you guys to the million mom march against gun violence that's going to be in washington, d.c. that's january 26th. >> bill: oh, wow! didn't know about that. >> peter: good stuff. >> bill: right after the inauguration. >> peter: we'll get the information out there. i appreciate the call. >> bill: we should get -- shayna, if you have more information, e-mail us and maybe we'll get some of the leaders on. >> peter: i'm making a note here. let's go to linda in reno, nevada. welcome to the "full court press." >> caller: good morning. excuse me. i'm sounding like bill. first of all i just want to say joe biden rocks! he's terrific! >> peter: uncle joe uncle joe! >> caller: on the gun control thing, i think what a lot of

people lose sight of in this is this is all about money. international arms dealers which is what the nra supports, make millions and millions and millions of dollars on gun control -- on selling guns to people. and until we make it unprofitable for them to manufacture and then sell and for the public to buy these weapons of mass destruction that keep getting used in these massacres, nothing's going to change. >> peter: i want to read really quickly if i can linda from this huff post article i referenced earlier about walmart and selling guns and how it will affect them when you look at how it deals with gun shows. diteer regulations could benefit walmart. one key proposal biden is expected to put forth would force independent gun sellers to go to certified dealers like walmart to conduct background checks on customers and to process their transactionses.

that law could send people who previously traded guns at shows and homes to walmart stores which means walmart gun sales would go higher. from a business standpoint, walmart says they're selling guns and they broadened their sale of guns because it is good for business. that's what people want. this is good for walmart's business. now, how can you argue with that? >> bill: if they make it good for business you know, that strengthens the argument for it. linda's on to something. that's what the nra is today. it is the lobby for the gun manufacturers. it is no longer the organization -- gee i'm sounding like linda. my voice i mean. it is no longer the organization that supports gun owners, hunters, sportsmen whatever. >> peter: you're right. >> bill: i had a gun. i grew up in a gun culture. i loved going duck hunting and rabbit hunting with my father, with my uncle. with my brothers.

i had a 20 gauge double barrel shotgun. i don't know. maybe i still have it somewhere. i don't know. >> peter: a lot of people do and a lot of people use them responsibly. >> bill: i was proud of it. i took care of it. i oiled it. >> peter: these aren't the weapons being used for gun violence. this is a weapon a man took into a school and killed children with. you can't argue you an ak-47 or bushmaster to go hunting because if nothing else, you're just going to go out there and turn a deer into a fine mist if you try to shoot it with that kind of gun. it is 43 minutes past the hour. we're going to move on to a different topic in the next segment. have you heard of the trillion dollar coin? it might not be such a far-fetched idea. we'll talk to hutchington post jenn bendery about it next right here on the "full court press." i'm peter ogborn with bill press. we'll be right back. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show."

iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

(vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say anything.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> peter: it is the "bill press show." the "full court press." 47 minutes past the hour. clearly, i'm not bill press. i'm peter ogborn. those of who you have been following the show know that bill has been struggling with a scratchy voice this week but he did drag himself in here. hi bill. >> bill: hello. i do not have the flu. i just have, you know, a sore throat. >> peter: i'm doing the show in a hazmat suit so i don't get sick from bill. we are approaching the debt

ceiling. do you think that congress can actually work together to get something done or is there another idea to avoided debt default? we're joined by "huffington post" reporter jennifer bendery. good morning. how are you? >> good morning. i'm good. >> peter: thanks for getting up and doing this with us. >> sure, sure, anything for bill. >> peter: for those who don't know, what the hell is the trillion dollar coin? what's this idea being floated around because when i first read it, i thought it was a joke. it turns out it's not. >> i thought the same thing. i thought it was a joke. it is kind of a joke but it turns out it has legal standing. the idea is pretty simple. essentially, if we -- if congress is unable to come up with a way to avoided hitting the debt ceiling, the idea is that basically we could mint a trillion dollar coin and give it to treasury and they could

tuesday to pay off our -- to cover our debt obligations and then we wouldn't need to worry about the debt ceiling anymore. it sounds absurd and there's a lot of people who are hoping that the life-span of the story goes on for awhile because it is ridiculous. but it turns out that there is an obscure 1990s law that does, in fact, allow the treasury department to do this. so it is not completely made up. but it is -- the idea that this is how it would take care of our debt obligations with a coin, is pretty -- i mean what next? >> bill: isn't this sort of like inflation? you know. like when you read about these countries at one time that would have -- it would cost you a trillion dollars to get a coke or something like that. when their money went -- isn't

that what happens? >> i was reading about this. before i was reporting on it and it appears it wouldn't have much of an effect on inflation because you are technically paying off debt obligations that you already incurred. so in the rare instance we would use the coin, it doesn't seem like that would be a big factor. >> bill: what i would do is i would make more than one so i would have a surplus. [ laughter ] >> right. there are so many jokes and ideas people have about the coin some people were joking yesterday about the most scary prospect is that joe biden would get ahold of the coin and give it to like a valet parker instead of a quarter and then there goes the whole economy. >> peter: this has got an lot of pickup. it gained steam. yesterday, the nrcc and one of

the dumber things i've ever seen, they tweeted out a picture of the titanic or of a large carrier ship with a coin with obama's picture on it and it says the amount of platinum needed to mint a coin worth a trillion dollars would sink the titanic as if we're not able to print pieces of paper with different currency and different levels of -- you don't actually have to have a trillion dollars worth of the platinum. >> no, you don't. again, this is absurd-sounding but if this coin option really did happen, this 1990s law that would allow us to do this only requires that a tiny bit of platinum be part of a coin. and then you can put any denomination on it and anyone's face and anything. >> bill: so i'm just really absorbing this. the treasury department could mint this one single coin and then declare that it's worth

boom, a trillion dollars right? >> essentially yes. we could mint the coin. put any denomination we want on it and take it and give it -- use it to cover our debt. done. it is pretty quick. >> bill: what really gave this a boost yesterday my understanding and jen, i was not there because of this damn throat of mine -- but you were, i'm sure. is that jay carney did not shoot this idea down at the briefing yesterday, right? >> yes. which is -- has also fueled the excitement of these people who want to keep talking about the coin because it makes for a fun story. he would not say no to the idea of the president doing this. several questions were asked. he duck and dodged and gave general, you know, avoideddance answers and finally somebody just asked point-blank jay can you just say yes or no whether

or not the president would consider using this option? just yes or no because you're not answering the question. his response was you need to talk to treasury. i know there were some of my colleagues who were thrilled that this -- the idea of the coin lives on. >> peter: there's been such a fury over this online. people are into it. they're pushing the idea. we shall see how they handle it. i don't think that they'll do this. but the fact that they threw it out is interesting. >> i don't think that anyone really thinks they're going to do this. if anything, i think what jay did yesterday was just sort of keep the idea dangling out there. just to kind of show republicans in negotiations they're not shutting it out completely. but i don't think anyone truly thinks we would pay off or cover our debt obligations with a coin. >> peter: all right jennifer bendery with "the huffington

post," thank you for joining us. >> no problem. >> peter: we'll be right back with some of your e-mails. stay tuned. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness,

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>> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> peter: welcome to the "bill press show." it is the "full court press" here on current tv. i'm peter ogborn sitting in for bill this morning. we're taking your e-mails on any topic at any time at billpressshow.com. norma writes in on gun control says chris rock said it best. we don't need gun control.

we need bullet control! bullets cost $5,000 apiece, people would think before they fired a gun. not a bad idea from norma. bill, on your scratchy voice your sore throat, bella has a sure fire, sure to work idea. you should have gone to the deli and got a schultz herring. it might work. stop by a kosher deli. got a smoltz herring and wrap your neck and throat with it. guaranteed by tomorrow your throat will be feeling better. >> bill: what will i smell like? >> peter: you're not coming in here with a smoltz herring wrapped around your neck, buddy! >> bill: i'm not going to bed with carol with a smoltz herring wrapped around my neck either. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> peter: good morning and welcome to the "full court press." i am clearly not bill press. bill press is here. he's battling a scratchy voice. he's going to be here to help us out all throughout the show while i do his job right in front of him which isn't creepy and scary at all. i'm sort of terrified but thank you for being here on current tv. it looks like we will have a new treasury secretary. and are you ready to see that signature on your money? that is jack lew's signature. and it could be on your dollar bill very, very soon. plus the current leadership at aig will not join the shareholder's lawsuit against the united states government.

maybe they finally got the message. we're going to be talking about that plus much, much more with paul singer from "usa today" coming up here on the "full court press." first, here's your current news update live in los angeles here's lisa ferguson. >> hey, peter. stay healthy. you're one of the last healthy ones left on the "bill press show." labor secretary hilda solis is the latest woman to leave obama's cabinet. she has announced she's stepping down and while she did not say exactly why shed she made the decision after speaking with family members and friends. the labor day was more -- the labor department was more aggressive in scouting out minimum wage and overtime. last year the department collected more than $280 million in back pay for 300,000 workers. that is more than any previous year. some colleagues say solis will now likely run for a seat on the l.a. county board of supervisors. another change to obama's

cabinet as peter just mentioned obama has announced chief of staff jack lew as his pick for secretary of treasury. if confirmed lew will be the president's second treasury secretary following timothy geithner. with solis out and lew in, some are bringing up concerns about the diversity of obama's cabinet. mike huckabee is trying to use the democrat's own campaign rhetoric against them saying obama is waging a war on women by not having enough of them in his staff. on his radio show yesterday huckabee criticized the president for appointing a bunch of white guys and faulted the democratic party for promising women contraception and abortions but not positions of authority. some of the administration's most powerful women are leaving in the upcoming months including hillary clinton, u.n. ambassador susan rice and senior adviser valerie jarrett. more coming up on the "bill press show." stay with us.

iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. [ male announcer ] the exclusive air suspension in the 2013 ram 1500. ♪ ♪ engineered to move heaven and earth. ♪ ♪ guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500. motor trend's 2013 truck of the year.

>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill pritz show. this is the "bill press show." >> peter: it is the "bill press show." the "full court press" clearly i'm not bill press. i'm peter ogborn doing what i can to steer the ship. bill is here. hi bill. >> bill: hey, peter, nice to hear you. nice to see you. not good to hear me. >> peter: you've got half a voice and i've got half a brain so together, we'll tackle the show. bill has been battling voice issues. he's here in spirit. his voice has taken a hit. i'm going to be sitting here doing his job while he watches on and i sit here in terror. good morning. we're joined -- >> like a wacky ventriloquist act. >> peter: for those of who you have never had to do your boss's

job while he sits and watches you, welcome to my nightmare. it's interesting. you're here. you've got your voice. >> bill: doing a great job. by the way there's nothing i can do about it anyways. >> peter: exactly. we're joined in stud studio by "usa today's" paul singer. >> thanks for having me. >> peter: you can join the conversation at any time at 1-866-55-press. remember, we're tweeting at bpshow at bpshow. you can find us there. your one stop shop for all of the information as we get it. you can visit our web site at billpressshow.com. gentlemen, later on today, we're going to get the academy award nominations. they're going to be announcing them later on. we'll have them here as they come out. >> bill: already. >> peter: we're officially in award season. over the weekend i saw "django

unchained" which was excellent. it was about 20 minutes too long. it was a very good quentin tainer -- tarantino movie. >> i think barry bonds should get an award. >> bill: he had his chance yesterday. >> he was playing a baseball player. >> bill: i saw les miserables over the weekend. >> peter: how was that? >> bill: it is really like musicals and plays. >> bill: it was just too much. too little story. too much hyperdrama. >> peter: you just pushed me over the edge. i felt like i needed to see it is going to be in play here. i'm not going to see it now. if you didn't like it. >> how good could it be? >> peter: you're into that kind of stuff. argo, i saw it. >> i don't see nearly enough

movies. >> peter: normally, i wait until the very end and rush out and see everything all at once. >> bill: i'll tell you this weekend i am going to see "zero dark thirty." i would go tomorrow night if i thought i could get a ticket. >> peter: we'll have the nominations when they come out in the next hour of the show. >> bill: i've seen "lincoln." pelt i haven't seen it. >> bill: phenomenal. >> peter: silver linings playbook is phenomenal. >> bill: i liked that as well. i've been doing my share this year. working up on it. >> peter: dan henning running the board. screening your calls is the anonymous phil backert. phil, be gentle with the callers today. making us look as good as he can on the video production is cyprian bowlding. he's there reporting for duty. we've got a big big show. paul singer has a lot of good stuff to talk about with what we

can expect out of this coming congress including some of the wackier ideas that we've seen. we'll go through all of those. but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> a couple of other headlines you need to know before you head out the door on this thursday. a big change is coming to monopoly. hasbro has announced it is retiring one of the current eight playing pieces and wants to introduce a new one to the popular real estate board game but it is letting the public make the big decisions. so you can head to hasbro's facebook page and vote as to which piece will not pass go. could it be the car thimble the boot, the scottie dog the iron or the wheelbarrow. potential new game pieces they're letting you vote on, a robot, a cat a helicopter, a guitar and a diamond ring. monopoly has been around for about 80 years. >> peter: whatever they do, they can't get rid of the scottie dog. >> bill: if it ain't broke

don't fix it. you know, monopoly has been there forever. >> peter: what are some other ideas for new pieces? >> trillion dollar coins. >> obama's birth certificate. >> details about the inauguration coming out including the inaugural lunch menu. after president obama's sworn into his second term, he'll dine with the supreme court justices. his cabinet secretaries and congressional leaders in the capitol. the menu includes lobster with new england cham chowder hickory grilled bison with wild huckleberry reduction and red potato horseradish cake and wines only from new york state. those are chosen by senator chuck schumer. he is chairing the inauguration. he has the say as to what they're going to drink. >> bill: he picked the menu, too. bison. >> lobster. >> it's time to colonize mars. cbs reports a company in the netherlands announced its requirements for applicants to become mars colonists. it hopes to put people on the

red planet in 2023. you must be intelligent, have good health and dedication to the project. just the training alone is an eight-year program. the mars one company plans to send robotic shipments to mars in four years to start building an outpost that will then be ready in 11 years when humans hopefully arrive. >> bill: can we sign people up? >> gingrich. send newt! >> peter: it's newt. he's going to mars. by the way bill, we've been been taking remedies for your scratchy voice all morning. >> bill: i've tried them all out. >> peter: you haven't tried the smoltz herring. >> bill: all the rest before that were alcoholic. >> peter: someone said get a smoltz herring and wrap it around your neck. that will cure your voice. i have no idea what it is. >> bill: i have no idea. >> peter: i will tell what you a smoltz herring is according to

kick which pedia. a matt -- a wikipedia. it is in goose or chicken fat or as the german smoltz in pork fat. >> bill: wrap this around my neck? >> peter: basically a fatty herring that's been preserved in brine so fishy salty fatty remedy around your neck. >> food product always served with vodka. i think it is the vodka that's the solution to the problem. not fatty herring. >> bill: is this a jewish thing? >> peter: give it a shot. >> bill: first, i gotta find me a smoltz herring. >> peter: if anyone wants to mail you one don't bother refrigerating it. we're joined by paul singer, "usa today" politics editor. he has a new piece about the first bills of the new congress. we've met the new congress. doesn't look like it will be

much different than the old congress. we don't know if they can be much worse. >> bill: it is nice to know they're already hard at work. >> they're off doing what they do. >> peter: what craziness have they brought us already? >> the first bills of the congress are largely an opportunity to make message. you sort of start by saying here's the things i would love to do like abolish the fed. we have a couple of suggestions to return to the gold standard. there are people who want -- again, these are not necessarily bad ideas but they haven't passed ever before. we have jose serrano who wants to abolish the 22nd amendment and allow the president to continue running as long as he can. which he's gotten a lot of flak for but in fairness, he's introduced it every year for the past 20 years. >> peter: have we had the repeal obamacare introduced? >> michele bachmann. she was the first bill. >> bill: they've only done it 33 times paul. >> well, yeah.

i think it was blackburn of tennessee had an interesting approach to the spending cutting. she introduced in our bills. one was to cut across the board spending by 1%. second was across the board spinding cuts by 5%. the fourth is by 15%. you're putting out your markers if you don't like this one take that one. >> peter: multiple choice legislation. >> the deal here is that members are just trying -- keep in mind, bills don't pass anyway. they'll introduce 7,000 bills in the house this year and they'll pass, if they're lucky 100 and 80 will be post office namings. all legislation is a joke to start with. these are the ones that members care about most and want to get out first and want to be able to say i was first on this issue. >> peter: how many bills have been put out in this new congress? >> about 200. >> peter: how many days have they worked? >> two. keep in mind, they reserve -- there are still a lot of spaces

reserved. the first 20 bills have not yet been introduced. these are the bills that will actually matter. when you have a gun control bill of some sort supported by leader pelosi, it will be bill number 11. when you have a spending bill supported by john boehner and the rest of the leadership, it will be bill number one. but yeah so they've got 200 and some going. there will be plenty more by the end of the week. >> bill: just to show you how things never change, i don't know 100 years ago my first job working as a legislative assistant in the sacrament -- in california -- i was in the state senate but i was in the assemblyman's office. bill bagley, some from marin county, i was there when he was talking to one of his constituents and she said -- he said do you want to see me? she said yes i want to talk to you about ab104. bagley says no, don't give me the bill number. just give me the issue. the issues never change. only the bills change.

every year, it is the same issues that keep coming back. that was true then. it is still true today. >> if you google any one of the bills, you'll see 15 versions going back decades. >> bill: i never forgot that. it was an insight into the whole process. >> absolutely. the bill number is the only thing that's different. over decades perhaps. >> bill: the chances of getting them passed don't improve either. do they? >> no, no. not at all. >> some of these might get wrapped into some other bigger piece of legislation right? at some point. a 1% across-the-board cut might get wrapped into something. i talked to a political scientist up at the university of maryland who said part of a member of congress's job is to take positions on stuff. that's what they're doing. they're doing their job. they're taking positions on stuff. whether or not they're actually legislating is another issue. very interesting thought. >> bill: i'm the champion of getting rid of the fed. it doesn't mean that i've succeeded or that i have a

chance of succeeding. >> but you will see a scramble particularly on some of the issues that ron paul previously championed. there will be a scramble for people trying to get the ron paul corner basically. and to become the sort of -- carp the mantle of ron paul -- carry the mantle of ron paul on into the future. you'll see bills that specifically appeal to that group. >> bill: is there any hope -- if you look at that, we're talking mainly here about the house, i guess. you look at the senate with their filibuster inability to get anything done in the senate until the 11th hour maybe. is there any hope of improving the way this congress works in terms of its effectiveness in getting things done? >> no. >> bill: are people concerned about it? >> i was talking to somebody the other day about the fact in the mid '90s i sat through several weeks of markup of a piece of legislation in the energy and commerce committee. >> bill: that must have been

exciting. >> solid waste bill. they had amendments to the legislation. they debated some issues. they voted it out of committee finally. it was like stuff that just doesn't happen anymore. it just doesn't happen like that anymore. now the bill that they're going to move are written in the leadership offices with the negotiation with house and they're done. whether we actually ever see them or not is a different matter. congress has changed. congress has fundamentally changed the way it's done its business. i'm not convinced it is a good thing. then again i'm not in the opinion business. >> bill: speaking of the opinion business, i just saw the latest poll, ppp public policy poll 9% approval rating for congress. 85% disapprove of the job congress is doing. there are cockroaches that have higher than a 9% approval rating. there are stds that have a higher approval rating. some stds. maybe not all of them.

don't you think that this is something that congress ought to maybe think about? >> but but they're getting re-elected which means that i hate the congress but i still want to vote for my member of congress. she's still a good goofball. he's still a good goofball. we know him or her. part of the community. it is sort of a funny approach to things but i really do think that the american people believe that you noy my member of -- that my member of congress is a decent person. it is rest of them who are a bunch of corrupt bastards. congress was invented to not do anything. the whole idea of the u.s. congress is to prevent bad ideas from becoming law. they do that fairly well. >> peter: 1-866-55-press if you want to join the conversation with paul singer, feel free to join in. 1-866-55-press. very interesting stuff. it shows that while maybe there is a lesson to be learned from the 112th congress which embraced the do nothing congress better than any congress we've

ever seen, maybe the lessons weren't learned by the 113th. 1-866-55-press. i'm peter ogborn. he's bill press. he's paul singer from "usa today." we'll be right back on the "full court press." stay tuned. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show." (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say anything.

hd alright, in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the

democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> peter: it is the "full court press." peter ogborn sitting in with bill today while bill rests his voice. we're joined in studio by "usa today's" politics editor paul singer. bit way, comment of the day goes toes a as it ya.

dan had the story about monopoly. how they're getting rid of some of the game pieces. monopoly could combine two pieces, take the car put the scottie dog on top of it and call it the romney. pretty good! i like it. 26 minute past the hour. we're talking to -- >> bill: the problem is you would also have to have a little piece of paper in every game because people will soon forget about the romney dog reference. >> it may be short-lived. >> peter: paul singer from "usa today" joining us in studio today. one of the topics of the day is the trillion dollar coin. the coin that could -- we could mint a trillion dollar coin. >> bill: call it -- declare it worth a trillion dollars and use it to pay off the debt. >> peter: how does congress look at that? >> we've got legislation being

introduced to stop it. there you go. we're off and running already. congressman walden, i believe it was from oregon has introduced a bill to prevent them from minting the $1 trillion coin. it is a goofball idea. you know, this gets back to the whole issue of how government actually functions. all kinds of dumb things you could do if you wanted to. you can try funny stuff. >> peter: right. >> i can't imagine this would be anybody's real solution. to the debt problem. but it is hypothetically, theoretically possible they could mint the trillion dollar coin, daal a trillion coin and say they paid off a trillion dollars worth of debt and bought them some head room. i was goofing around where i had a whole bunch of marcs -- rubles with karl marx's name on it. i don't think legislation to

stop it would fly because then the president would have to sign legislation. he wouldn't sign if he wants to mint the coin. >> peter: the white house didn't rule it out. jay carney didn't rule it out although he didn't rule it in. >> they also didn't rule out sending newt gingrich to mars. let's see if that happens. >> bill: if you're going to make a coin, have two or three and have a surplus. >> well, see now there's genius. why stop at one? >> "usa today" politics editor, paul singer, find him at singernews. thank you for coming in, paul. >> my pleasure. >> peter: we'll be right back with congressman elijah cummings from the state of maryland. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block.

>> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> peter: it is the "bill press show." clearly, i'm not bill press. i'm peter ogborn sitting here with bill. bill is here. he continues to fight a scratchy voice. he's here full in spirit, half in voice and we're doing what we can here at 33 minutes past the hour. we're tweeting at bpshow. >> bill: you're just not as good-looking as bill press is. >> peter: i'm not nearly as smart or handsome. we're taking your calls at 1-866-55-press. we're joined now by congressman from the state of maryland, elijah cummings. congressman, good morning. how are you? >> i'm doing fine. good morning. >> bill: good morning congressman. >> peter: let's start with the big, pressing news of the day. baltimore ravens, denver broncos this weekend from your baltimore

ravens, how are they going to do against the broncos? >> i think it will be a close game. i want to say the ravens but i'm telling you with manny being as good as he is, it will be very difficult. so it all depends on who shows up. sometimes rocco can be a little bit off. but i'm praying it will be the ravens. i say denver. >> manning looked really good this season. i'm not sure anyone expected him to play as well as he did. he seems to have the rayeen's -- the raven's number if history is any indication. >> i'm happy for him. he left indianapolis. i was really kind of concerned. i'm so happy for him. i really am. >> peter: let's get to another big issue of the day.

that is aig. the shareholders of aig as ungrateful as they are, are pushing for a lawsuit against the government for bailing them out and they say that they lost money because of it. now aig decided not to redefine the word hutzpah. they declined that join that lawsuit yesterday. what does this mean for america? what does it mean for companies that we used to call too big to fail? >> what it means is first of all, aig overall showed a total disrespect for the american taxpayer. keep in mind, they came basically begging for the united states government to rescue them we loaned them $182 billion. only option they had was to go into bankruptcy.

if they had gone into bankruptcy the shareholders who were considering -- would have been left with stock that was worth a dime. but i think basically what this says is that we've got to more effectively address too big to fail. we made some joint steps in dodd frank. we've got to do better. >> bill: congressman, let me ask you this. we loaned them $182 billion. did we get our money back and did we get interest on that money? >> we got our money back and we got about $22 billion. one of their complaints was that the interest rate was too high. it was over 14%. they were upset that we charged them too much. but this is what they agreed to.

if somebody throws. >> rope and they pull you up and get you out you don't say i didn't like the color of the rope so i'm going to sue you. that's basically what this amounts to. >> bill: unbelievable they could do this. so this lawsuit even without aig's current board on -- in support of it, this lawsuit, if a judge allows it, could still go forward. >> that's correct. greenberg who used to run it for many years he's got a $25 billion lawsuit out there now. one has been dismissed. the other one has not. it is still floating out there. i'm telling you, it has to leave a very sour taste in the taxpayer's mouths because i'm working, as a matter of fact, i'm on my way to the consumer

protection bureau in baltimore. one of the things we'll be talking about new rules to help people make sure that they don't give out risky loans. when i think about my constituents, the thousands upon thousands of them who have lost their homes. lost money in stock portfolios, bad during the last four or five years. they saved aig. couldn't imagine suing them. >> peter: it's truly amazing. the story is truly amazing. i don't know how in the world we can let them get away with this but it also, again, like you said, we need to really look at what the definition of too big to fail means in this country. i want to talk -- >> one of the things is that

there are a group of folks on wall street and in other places who have a whole different idea of what day-to-day life in america is. screaming about the 47%. the rest of us, the government. it is incredibly wrong. >> peter: let's turn our attention to the debt ceiling. we're approaching the debt ceiling and we saw just how well we could all work together with getting a fiscal cliff deal done congressman. how do you anticipate this playing out? >> well, i tell ya, i think that the -- i think that the republicans are going to -- make it clear that they are -- they're going to threaten and continue to threaten to not raise the debt ceiling. but i gotta tell you i just

cannot imagine the business community allowing the republicans to do that. i just don't. they're going to have to sink their own -- let me go back. one of the reasons why i said that is if they refuse to pay the debt ceiling we've already made you could bring the economy down in this country. it would hurt the world economy. i can't imagine them doing that. i know we have some tea partiers who are very very, very conservative. but i don't see it happening. at some point there will be a come to jesus moment where whole parties will sit down, work this thing out. probably have to go back and look at the tax code. look for loopholes. so that we can get some more

revenue. i did not want to see us mettling with current benefits such as social security. >> bill: congressman this is bill press here with a scratchy voice, if it comes down to where the republicans say the only way we'll raise the debt ceiling is if we get the cuts we want in social security and medicare which as you pointed out they'll come back with that. do you think the president would have the authority under the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own without waiting for congress? >> yes i do believe it has the authority but unfortunately the president made it clear he will not use the authority. i don't know whether he really believes he has it. he has made it clear he won't do it. >> bill: too bad. it would have been nice to see him issue that threat. >> peter: congressman, i want

to ask you about a topic that's been gaining traction here in recent weeks. >> bill: one way to solve the debt ceiling problem. >> peter: one way to solve the debt ceiling problem is for the treasury to create a coin and deem it worth $1 trillion. it is the mint a coin campaign and use that to pay down our deficit. the white house yesterday was asked about it. they didn't rule it out. what's your take on that, congressman? is that something that we could possibly look at and even go down that path? >> i think we should look at it -- i think we should look at it very, very carefully. it is almost too good to be true, to be frank. we can solve this problem. this debt problem. and we can make sure that we do this in a very balanced way. the key to all of this is bring

in again, vice president biden. i thought did he a great job. explaining the negotiations. i think he -- we were very impressed with his negotiating skills. i think the president needs to do more in that role. the circumstances at the time, to cause the parties to do this thing right so that there is a balanced approach. we've got to get more revenue. we've got to be careful that we're not taking from people that already have nothing. that is people like -- my constituents or social security and medicare. >> peter: congressman elijah cummings, thank you for joining us on the "bill press show." >> thank you. >> peter: go ravens, by the way. you know it is interesting to hear him say that.

you mentioned earlier in the show about how they brought in biden to handle some big things. when he did the stimulus. that's another thing. he go the that fiscal cliff deal done. he met with mitch mcconnell. that was biden. >> bill: from the very beginning of this administration, every time there's been a big challenge a big task to undertake the president has turned to the vice president to get it done. and he has delivered. >> go, joe! >> bill: enough joe biden jokes. he's a funny guy. >> peter: we can still do the joe biden jokes. >> bill: he's naturally a funny guy. he's real. and he's good! and he's smart and he gets things done. >> peter: 44 minute past the hour. "bill press show." i'm peter ogborn sitting in with bill today. we'll be right back. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." have the passion. but it's also about telling them, you're put on this planet for something more. i want this show to have an impact beyond just informing. an impact that gets people to

take action themselves. as a human being, that's really important. this is not just a spectator sport.

(vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say anything.

>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> peter: welcome to the "full court press." ity ate "bill press show." i'm peter ogborn sitting in with bill press today. he's here fighting a scratchy voice. we're making it through. bill has -- >> bill: i have my yogi tea thanks to mary elizabeth down in north carolina. she recommended. >> peter: put a little whiskey in there? >> bill: only me and mary know. >> peter: we often talk about sports and sports injuries. in the nfl especially. remember junior seau last year who took his own life.

he shot himself in the chest because he wanted his brain to be studied. the doctors looked at his brain and told the family and they report this morning that his brain did test positive for chronic traumatic encephalopathy or cte repeated blows to the head and head injuries that can lead to dementia, memory loss. it is a problem that's plagued a lot of former nfl players. this is the issue that the nfl has to address when we talk about helmet to helmet blows and the sort of violent nature of the nfl. >> bill: so much evidence of this. i think dave zirin told us there are 9,000 lawsuits. phenomenal number. >> peter: one big lawsuit with several former players injuries lead -- brain injuries are leading to major problems. which leads us to this story. virginia commonwealth university did a study and looked at how

we, as a nation, are doing in the health department. >> bill: this is stunning. >> peter: turns out we're not doing so great. americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries. this study was put on by vcu led by dr. steven wolfe who explains. >> our panel found that the health of americans is far worse than the health of people in other countries. despite the well-known fact that the u.s. spends far more on healthcare. >> peter: all of these talking points of people who come out and say we've got the best healthcare in this country. we do the best that we can for our people. turns out it might not be true. >> bill: it's not true. particularly for young americans. and that's what's really -- stunning. we have -- look at these countries and the countries included -- i saw a list of them here. canada japan australia france germany spain others,

as you point out highly-developed high-income countries, united states has the highest infant mortality rate. >> peter: that, to me, is unbelievable. >> bill: among those countries. highest infant mortality rate and its young people have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases. teen pregnancy and death from car crashes. so i mean you know, we pride ourselves on being the best in the world in every area. i mean when it comes down to health and we're spending more money than anybody else per capita, we're not. >> peter: i really truly don't get it. i don't get it. i'm thinking to myself well, we don't do a good job taking care of the poor in this country. but it turns out as dr. steven wolfe who led this study says, it's not just a matter of economics. >> our study found that even americans who are white insured, have college educations or high incomes were engaged in

healthy behaviors seemed to be in worse health than people of similar characteristics in other rich nations. >> peter: and he goes on because he says it's not just one specific disease or anything like that. it is across the board. >> americans have worse health in many areas. for diseases from infancy to old age, for injuries that range from car crashes to shootings and their life expectancy is shorter than people in other rich nations. >> bill: related peter. talk today with vice president biden and his task force about doing something about gun safety. this study shows the rate of firearm homicides in the united states 20 times higher than any of these other countries. firearm homicides. and 69% of all american homicide deaths in 2007 involved firearms.

69%. in those other countries 20%. >> peter: wow. that is stunning. it is stunning. and for those of you that want to sit back and say that joe biden's not doing anything by leading a task force to find good gun control, that's a big factor in the study. >> bill: overall, you just the idea our healthcare system, it is great for people who have a lot of money and can afford the very best but overall it's not for the people who don't. still a lot of people don't have health insurance or don't have adequate health insurance. and the system is so fractured today that people can't always get -- they're not getting the preventive healthcare that they need from the very givenning to prevent getting to serious illnesses. we have a lot of self-examination to do. >> peter: a long way to go. we're going to keep our eye on that story. stay tuned here to the "bill press show." it is the "full court press." i'm peter ogborn sitting in with bill today. stay tuned. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show."

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> peter: i'm peter ogborn sitting in with bill today. talking about the president's schedule today. what's on barack obama's agenda? well -- >> bill: not a lot. >> peter: at 10:30 today the president and vice president receive the daily briefing. we're just now getting word it looks as though 1:30 p.m. today in the east room, they're going to announce jack lew as the next treasury secretary. so it looks like he just added that on to his list of things to do today.

other than that, it is pretty wide open. >> bill: i saw him monday in the front row in the east room when president obama nominated chuck hagel and john brennan. >> peter: for those of you wondering what jack lew's signature might look like on your flat money that's the signature of jack lew. it looks a lot like a squiggly line or maybe the auto pen went a little haywire when barack obama tried to sign some legislation. either way, stay tuned to the "full court press." big hour next hour. stay tuned. i'm peter ogborn sitting in with bill still taking your calls at 1-866-55-press. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." you're getting a ton of shrimp and it tastes really good! [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobster's 30 shrimp for just $11.99! choose any two of five savory shrimp selections like mango jalapeño shrimp and parmesan crunch shrimp. two delicious shrimp selections on one plate! all with salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits. 30 shrimp, just $11.99 for a limited time.

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>> peter: happy thursday and welcome to the "full court press." it's the "bill press show." as you can tell, i'm not bill press but he is. >> bill: i am. >> peter: bill's here. i'm peter ogborn, helping bill out today. he's still resting his voice which is still a little scratchy. he's here in full spirit. we're doing what we can today. thank you so much for tuning in. >> bill: scotch. bourbon. >> peter: it smells like a tavern in here right now. i have to tell you. >> bill: vodka. >> peter: see the fumes rising off of bill's head. the hill's bob cusack will join us for the hour to talk about the goings on in washington. barack obama nominates john brennan for head of the c.i.a. and chuck hagel as secretary of development can they get confirm and why do republicans have such a hard time embracing their fellow republican chuck hagel. we'll be talking about that with

juana summers from politico. first from l.a., here is your current yous update with lisa ferguson. >> you have to pass some of that bourbon over over here. good morning everyone. the pentagon is getting ready for its new boss, now that chuck hagel is the official pick of president obama for secretary of defense. the senate has not yet voted him in. hagel is getting plenty of criticism for his stances on israel iran and lgbt issues and he could face a long confirmation process. but the changing of the guard is already underway. current defense secretary leon panetta has authorized a military and civilian transition team to support hagel and brief him on operations, budget and administration policies. haigle will also need to prep a list of policy answers for the senate armed services committee. when panetta went through the process, his answers filled nearly 80 pages. today a federal appeals court will consider releasing photos of osama bin laden after his

death. the conservative group judicial watch wants the government to release 52 images following the killing of bin laden in may of 2011. the government argues the photos should be kept secret in the interest of national security. saying the release could incite violence against americans. >> americans are losing tens of billions of dollars at the hands of china. the united states has opened up cases against dozens of china-based companies after allegations of fraud and financial irregularities. but the chinese government is refusing to cooperate with the investigation meaning americans cannot prove their cases and businesses are losing money. more peter and bill up after the break. stay with us. you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking.

>>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

>> announcer: broad crasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> peter: this is the "bill press show." you're watching on tv and you're listening. you can tell i'm not bill press. >> bill: i am. >> peter: he is. i'm peter ogborn. i'm sitting in the big chair today. bill is here. he has about half of a voice. thank you all very much for giving bill all of the sore throat scratchy voice remedies. i wish you would stop telling him to drink alcohol. it smells like a tavern in here. >> bill: the alcohol is okay. i'm okay with all of the alcohol recommendations on there. i've tried them all. the herring the smoltz herring -- >> peter: we're joined in studio by the hill's managing editor bob cusack. we're getting all sorts of remedies. somebody said bill should put a

smoltz herring around his neck. we didn't know what it was. if you don't know what it is. it is a fatty mature herring that they brine and then they preserve it in chicken or pork fat so it's a fishy salty fatty fish that you wrap around your neck. >> bill: cold fish. >> peter: hey ladies! boy! >> that's out there. >> peter: wrap one of those around your neck and go to the bar that evening and see how you fair. >> bill: i would have to be really sick to try that. >> or have a lot of alcohol maybe. >> peter: try the alcohol remedies first and then get drunk enough to wrap a dead fish around his neck. we're joined on the board with mr. dan henning. i'm fine. >> peter: we thank you for your service. phil backert screening calls there. you can reach him at

1-866-55-press. he is always off-camera but always in our hearts, phil backert there. and cyprian bowlding on the video side of things doing his best to make us look good. why do you look at me like that? >> bill: i watched the show yesterday because a rare day, my show is on the air. i'm not there. i'm home. i'm telling you take it from a viewer -- >> peter: okay. >> bill: you can see phil. >> peter: there are people who say we never see phil. look harder. he's the where's waldo. look up, phil. >> bill: look through -- from that camera, you look through the monitor and you can see phil answering phones. >> peter: we got a very good overhead shot of phil. i don't know what you're looking at on your computer but i don't know if that's work appropriate. we've got -- we're going to have academy award nominations in about 20 minutes. we'll keep on top of those. but yesterday was a big day. baseball hall of fame had a chance to induct new members.

they didn't induct anybody. barry bonds sammy sosa clemens, nobody. in fact, the closest one the number one vote getter was crig biggio who got -- craig biggio who got 66. you have to get 75%. nobody got it. barry bonds ended up with 36%. >> very low. i think palmeiro got about 8%. very low amount. >> peter: it's amazing and i think it says something. they made a statement. the guy who holds probably the most coveted record, maybe in all of sports, barry bonds but certainly in baseball, couldn't even get the top -- >> bill: the top hitter and the top pitcher neither one could make it. no roger clemens. new york times this morning i thought i had it with me. the business section their sports part of the business

section where they have almost the entire page is empty. talk about waste of news space. at the top it says list of those who made hall of fame. very powerful. >> peter: on top of all of that lance armstrong is sitting down to talk to oprah. so we welcome to the age of steroids in american sports. >> bill: the stories the last two nights on cbs news about the threats that he made to the investigating officer whoever that commission was looking into his drug use and to fellow teammates who were testifying in front of that -- the grand jury -- he's not a nice guy. >> everyone believed him for so long. very smart but then eventually it catches up to you. you have so many witnesses it seems. eventually all testify against him. >> peter: we're talking news of the day. we're going to talk about joe

biden's leading of the task force to figure out sensible gun control in a few moment. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> a couple of other stories you need to know staying on the sports front. most talked about sports injury surgery. washington redskins rookie quarterback robert griffin ii oorks going under the knife yesterday morning for a direct repair of his lcl and a redo of his previous acl reconstruction. his doctor could return to the field in time for the start of the next nfl season. >> peter: i'm not so sure about that that he starts next season. you know what? even if he's not ready they still might try and put him out on the field. >> knowing mike shanahan, they absolutely will. >> peter: there was a piece in the "washington post" by sally jenkins, just destroying the redskins. >> bill: devastating piece. >> peter: top to bottom. everything that they did wrong. they took this -- the most

exciting football player in years and treated him like a used car. and who knows what damage has been done. we'll have to wait and see. >> the one thing i liked is if you're going to call out shanahan who was saying during the game he should come out. that's fair. but a lot of people i think are second guessing or they weren't saying it at the time. but this is such a disaster. washington sports is like a tragedy. rgiii. it doesn't really matter if we lose because our future is so bright and now this. >> bill: i watched that entire game. they gotta take him out. he was saying it right from the second quarter. >> the white house actually took time to respond to a petition on its web site asking that cnn host piers morgan be deported because of his outspoken views on gun control. 100,000 people signed the we the people petition going after the

cnn personality for attacking the second amendment. jay carney spoke out for the white house in a statement yesterday say when talking about the second amendment, do not forget about the first. that would be piers morgan's freedom of speech. they will not deport him because under the constitution, he has every right to express his opinion. >> peter: i have officially turned the corner on the white house petitions. there's no white house -- there's now a white house petition for everything. it has officially jumped the shark. when you can put up a petition on literally anything and -- >> a big change is coming to monopoly. hasbro announcing it is retiring one of the current eight playing pieces and they want introduce a new one with the popular board game. it is letting the public make the decision. people can vote on the facebook page as to which piece will not pass go anymore. could it the car the boot, thimble, dog battleship or the hat or the iron or the wheelbarrow. potential new game piece to vote on, a robot a cat helicopter,

guitar and a diamond ring. >> bill: this is just stupid. >> peter: we should have the trillion dollar coin as one of the game pieces. >> bill: but there are few things left in life that you can enjoy playing with your grandparents when you were a kid, you know or with your parents and then with your brothers and sisters and then eventually with your kids and eventually -- monopoly. >> i don't know about the robot. >> that's a little weird. >> peter: why must people ruin the things i liked as a kid? >> bill: if it ain't broke don't fix it. monopoly ain't broke. >> peter: we had one good idea. monopoly could combine two pieces and call it the romney. you take the car and you put the scottie dog on top of it and then you have the romney piece. >> peter: today a big day for vice president joe biden.

he's been put in charge of getting sensible ideas on gun control. he's meeting with walmart and the nra. i think as we talked earlier the meeting with walmart is way more important than the nra because you know that walmart may actually work with the vice president on this. how do you think this is going to go and what do you think is the best-case scenario? >> i think this is quite a showdown. the obama administration for the first time is going to take on the nra. obviously they're not going to agree on what to do. from reports we've seen or recently in "the washington post," they're going to go big. whetherrer this going to seek big bills or go narrow, they're not going to go small. if they can get walmart change public opinion that's their challenge. it is fascinating, too, that joe biden, all of a sudden, vice president biden struck a deal with congress on the fiscal cliff. he's thinking about running for president in 2016. gun control a huge issue on the left. he's the guy in charge. >> peter: i think it does say something about the power of the nra and how much it's gone away.

when wayne lapierrre came out and basically said guns aren't the problem. there's not a problem at all with guns. in fact, we need more guns. we need more people to have guns. i think he showed his hand and said we're not going to work with anybody. >> that press conference was a bit of a fiasco. >> peter: it was the most insane thing i think i've ever seen. >> they had to come out and say something. but they also have to worry about on their right, you have the gun owners of america. they're saying the nra is too weak. they don't want to lose members here. clearly, they're going to have a meeting. when it comes down to it, this is going to be the white house versus nra. >> peter: what can the white house do anybody that looked at the drudge report web site yesterday saw that the story about the executive order on guns with the picture of hitler and stalin side by side. maybe overselling it just a touch. look on the -- when is the white house due to address this? >> one of the things they could

do is name an atf permanent director. they haven't had a permanent director in a long time. that's the power of the nra. they don't want a powerful atf to enforcer the law. what they can do like as far as the assault weapon ban that's got to go through congress. a lot of the gun control measures have to go through. i think they'll get creative and they'll push the envelope and if somebody challenges them in court, so be it. they know -- you look at the makeup of congress. you have, i know some senators, democratic senators have changed their tune on guns. senator casey senator manchin. you still have a lot of members up there that have "a" ratings from the nra. getting anything passed is first going to require changing the way america thinks of guns, especially they need to obviously -- the victims families will play a huge role here. >> bill: we were talking a little bit earlier. the train really -- this time, looks like it is going to be able to get out of the station. just look at yesterday.

governor cuomo of new york. top priority. governor of connecticut top priority. gabby giffords and her husband mark kelly starting a new organization. vice president biden meeting with the gun control groups with walmart as peter indicated and nra today. monday the parents of the newtown victims kids' parents are having a news conference to announce their agenda similar to the 9-11 widows in new jersey, kept that issue alive right? i think right now there's definitely going to be some action to do something about this gun violence problem. and stop it. >> if not now when? that's what -- president obama got an f from the brady campaign in 2010 because he pushed -- his policies were for embracing the assault weapon ban but he didn't push for it. then he's called that day the worst day of his presidency. and he's committed to this.

they're going to go after this full bore. >> peter: it used to be something you didn't talk about. america has seen the damage that can be done with guns so yeah, we're having the conversation. we're still sort of in the gray area of what do we do, how do we get this done, how do we address it. so you're going to start to see some leaders emerge out of this. biden is one of them. obama wants to tackle this head on. andrew cuomo in his state of the state said the same thing. governor malloy in connecticut in his state of the state went the same direction. walmart could very welcome out and be one of the leaders on gun control and say you know what? we're going to do something. we'll see what happens. >> bill: silence today about this issue is the same as supporting -- it is supporting the gun manufacturers. and the nra. which is their lobby in washington.

>> walmart is in a tough spot. if they don't embrace what the white house does they're going to take a lot of heat. >> peter: this is from "the huffington post." this talks about walmart and why it might actually be good for them to embrace tougher gun legislation. tighter regulations on guns could benefit walmart. one key proposal that biden is expected to put forth would force independent gun sellers to go to certified dealers like walmart to conduct background checks on customers to process their transactionses which means it would send more sales to walmart. this could be good for them. we'll see if biden can convince walmart of that. >> obviously, the factor here is the house of representatives. john boehner after the tragedy in connecticut told his conference listen, we need to have a conversation about this. that doesn't mean he's bringing gun control legislation to the house floor but they recognize that public opinion has shifted in the wake of connecticut but how do you get a bill through the house? that's the question. and strategywise, this is so important for the white house because if they make the wrong

steps, this definitely could be something that hurts them politically. >> peter: america has been heaven for gun owners for a long time and i think both sides of the aisle realize that gotta maybe make it a little tougher. >> bill: now's the time. 21 minutes past the hour. >> peter: i'm peter ogborn sitting in with bill press and bob cusack. stay tuned. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it.

@ñ@ñ we have a big big hour and the

iq will go way up. converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> peter: it is the "full court press." the "bill press show." peter ogborn sitting in along with bill press. i'm hosting for the host who is here watching me do his job.

hi. we're joined by the hill's managing editor bob cusack. >> bill: you want your report card now or after the show? >> peter: now the pressure's really on. revolving door continues to turn in washington, d.c. yesterday barack obama accepting the resignation of secretary of labor hilda solis. secretary solis has been a friend of the show. she joined us every monday after the job numbers came out. i would say if your level of success, your standard of success is job growth in this country, i would say she's done a pretty good job. what's the deal? >> you know, surprising that she left. a lot of people thought she was going to stay on. labor department secretary, bush administration, elaine ciao, you had those who stay around a long time. a former house member. now will it be one of solis' lieutenants? could it possibly be george miller democrat from california, a friend of labor? i doubt it. but now the game starts.

one of these -- this job is -- labor department doesn't get a lot of press. but really overseas, a huge department and deals with intense battles between industry and labor. >> bill: i think she's done an outstanding job. she's an outstanding public servant through many different jobs. and did a great job for president obama and as peter indicated, a really good friend of the show. i want to make a prediction right here and now. the next labor secretary will be jennifer granholm. former governor of michigan. >> peter: if you look at her speech -- >> bill: still soon to be former talk show host on current tv. our colleague. jennifer granholm. >> peter: there's no denying -- >> bill: michigan, union state. >> peter: i'm not breaking any new ground here. when you look at the obama cabinet and the most recent appointments, you've got john brennan -- >> bill: he needs a woman. >> peter: he lost a woman in his cabinet. you look at john kerry chuck hagel, john brennan, jack lew.

it is clear that the loss of a woman in the cabinet is something that people are going to pay attention to. >> the white house is sensitive to that. without a doubt, i think you're right. that's a fascinating pick. i like that pick. >> bill: you can use it. >> i'll run with that. >> if you're stealing from him you're stealing twice. it is the "bill press show." i'm peter ogborn in with bill press. speaking of chuck hagel and john brennan, we'll talk about those two recent appointments by barack obama. can they get through? why do republicans have a problem -- some republicans have a problem with chuck hagel? we'll talk about that with politico's juana summers. stay tuned. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." armed with the facts, and the arguments to feel confident in their positions. i want them to have the data and i want them to

have the passion. but it's also about telling them, you're put on this planet for something more. i want this show to have an impact beyond just informing. an impact that gets people to take action themselves. as a human being, that's really important. this is not just a spectator sport.

>> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> peter: it is the "bill press show." the "full court press." i'm peter ogborn sitting in for bill today. so those of you that have been watching, you know that bill has been struggling with his voice. so we brought in myself to host the show. we brought in bob cusack, managing editor of the hill and now we brought in juana summers from politico. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> peter: we kicked bill out. it is a hostile takeover of the "bill press show." a great analogy here is look at bill as rgiii and look at me as kurt cousins. i'm now stepping in only i'm more humble than rgiii. but i'm now hosting. we've sent bill to the bench. he's resting his voice. we're going to carry the show from here on out. >> you're o our rex grossman.

>> peter: i'm sexy rexy. i don't know how to take that. that's sort of a harsh -- i'm not that bad. come on! lots of stuff on president obama's agenda here as we move into the second term. one thing he's going to do today at 1:30, he's going to make the official announcement. jack lew is going to the treasury. for those of you who can make out his signature here, that's jack lew's signature. it looks sort of like a drunk caterpillar there. that will be on your flat money. it looks just like this. jack lew's signature. like a shock test if you look at it the right way. that's one nomination. other nominations that we've had here recently. we wanted to talk to juana summers about. let's start with john brennan. john brennan to the c.i.a. how are republicans going to take this? because we've already seen some opposition to him. >> as expected, a lot aren't taking it very well. they say he still has questions to answer about harsh

interrogation tactics from the bush era. he hasn't answered that. lindsey graham the other night speaking on fox news that suggested he wants to put a hold on brennan's nomination. use that as leverage so he can get the answers that he and his republican colleagues, kelly ayotte, john mccain have been pushing for from clinton from the obama administration and the attacks on benghazi last september. so there is already quite a bit of republican opposition growing for that nomination. the aclu's weighed in as well. there are a number of groups who are being very strong in that opposition. >> peter: you've got the republicans who are -- they have a problem with the techniques that brennan put in place while serving for the president that those same republicans supported. and the same ideas that they supported. >> funny how that works, isn't it? >> peter: weird. >> it is going to be something if republicans are going to fight a nominee they'll have to

pick one and coordinate. honestly, i don't see a filibuster for any of these nominees at this point. >> peter: it also strikes me as the definition of playing politics when you take a completely separate issue and you say well, like lindsey graham is doing. i'm going to hold these nomination up until i get my answers on this totally separate thing. i don't think that anybody really sees that as getting anything productive done. >> in a way he's tried to spin this. he's made the argument that the c.i.a. had a role in the talking points that he and his colleagues have been talking about, susan rice on the sunday shows were all probably tired of hearing about. that's how he brings the two together and tries to make this a logical argument. a lot of democrats a lot of democrats who are in politics to your point make the argument like let's get the nominations through. jay carney said yesterday earlier in the week that these nominations are important to national security. they need to happen as quickly as possible. i would think a lot of democrats in the senate would make a similar case. >> peter: we can all agree that the acts in benghazi were

acts of terror and i made the analogy the other day that if george bush in the weeks and months after 9-11 had come out and said i would like to nominate these people as secretary of defense and the c.i.a., these are two organizations that are very important to keep our country safe. we need to confirm them. these are the right people and democrats at the time said well, we need to find out what happened with september 11th, mr. president. we're going to hold the nominees up. you're not giving us the answers that we want. there would have been an outrye, i think. >> when you're dealing with national security nominees, there's always going to be some questions. the dance of whether it is republicans or democrats. senator ron widen has had a lot of questions about the use of the patriot act. i can see him pressing for answers on how many people have been surveilled by the patriot act. he hasn't got a lot of answers on that. they kind of hold up nominees for a little bit. try to get some answers from the administration and ultimately, they're going to back back away.

>> i agree with rob's point. the idea of seeing a filibuster, brennan and hagel unlikely there. will be a lot of uncomfortable questions from the dais, sure. but it won't stop the nominations from going through not likely. >> peter: moving from john brennan more specific to chuck hagel, if republicans had a problem with john brennan, i don't know how in the world they have a problem with chuck hagel. list the criteria that a secretary of defense should have, especially if you're a republican. chuck is a republican. chuck hagel has it. how can they even say that they have reservations about chuck hagel or what are their reservations? >> john mccain made the statement, i don't want to overquote him but paraphrasing, it is a stretch to call chuck hagel a republican. republicans say despite the vote that occurred since he left the senate he has been a republican in name only. he hasn't really stayed with the party line. if you look back as recently as this last election cycle, he

endorsed bob kerrey, a democrat over deb fischer, a republican in that senate race. most of the ire and scrutiny coming from republicans when it comes to chuck hagel. views in the middle east. on iran, on israel. that is the point that many of these -- many of these republican senators including many who sat on the senate armed services committee simply will not back away from. >> as far as -- you deal with apec. apec is a very powerful lobby. they're not going to get involved in this nomination. that's a big factor there. hagel did not endorse mccain. he did not endorse mitt romney. that's certainly playing a role here where republicans -- he's not a party guy. and once again this is a tough spot for the g.o.p. how can you oppose this guy when he -- you know, he opposed the iraq war. he did vote for it. some confusion. did he vote for that war and then he turned on as so many people did. >> peter: you know, as more and more comes out about chuck hagel, it becomes clear that the

white house is going to fight for chuck hagel. not the way that they fought for susan rice. they did not fight for susan rice. they're going to fight for chuck hagel. the stories have come out already. i find it sort of interesting that they're ready for the fight. they got all of the stuff out there early. it's gone. it's past. but they're willing to fight for hagel. >> this is obviously an issue where the president his advisers, the white house has decided this is where we want to spend our political capital. i don't think it is a fight they would have waited if they didn't think they could win it. do they not think they have the votes to get him confirmed through what will be entertaining confirmation hearings. i will be sure to bring the popcorn. >> this is a winning fight for them. susan rice might not have been a winning fight. they might have filibustered susan rice. that would have been deemed a loss for them. so they floated hagel out. most important thing here, democrats getting -- barney frank criticizing hagel for his remark in 1998 about

homosexuals. he's backtracking. senator charles sumer certainly didn't endorse. now he's more on board. ben cardin had some concerns. i think you'll see him vote for hagel. this nomination barring something unforeseen is going to pass the senate. >> peter: 41 minutes past the hour. i'm peter ogborn sitting in with bill along with bob cusack and politico defense reporter juana summers. we'll take a quick break. want to take your calls on this topic of chuck hagel at 1-866-55-press. there's also another issue at play here when you look at the cabinet of barack obama. hilda solis stepping down as secretary of labor yesterday. barack obama has nominated chuck hagel, john brennan, john kerry jack lew all white men. and a prominent female in the obama cabinet is walking away.

very curious to see how the obama administration handles this. 1-866-55-press. peter ogborn sitting in for bill. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

i think the number one thing that viewers like about the

young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

>> peter: clearly i'm not bill press. we're taking your calls at 1-866-55-press. joined in studio by the hills managing editor bob cusack. bob, good morning and politico pros defense reporter juana summers. >> hi, there. >> peter: juana spent a lot of time out on the campaign trail. one of the people you followed and covered was rick santorum. who is not really thrilled with these chuck hagel nomination as secretary of defense. >> i think not thrilled would be an understatement. he's decided to use some of his political power to oppose that his super pac super voices will be running ads radio an online opposing the nomination. his advisers tell us he's not happy about chuck hagel's stances on iran and israel. he can look forward to those ads coming to a screen near you. >> peter: people who say that chuck hagel's anti-israel what is the issue here? what's the sort of -- what is their problem? what has he done or said that's so anti-israel? >> the comments he made back in

an interview several years ago alluding to a so-called jewish lobby but then you have pro israel groups now going back through, parsing his statements from the book he wrote in 2008 saying that there are some -- there are some passages that say he could perhaps not be a staunch ally of israel if he becomes defense secretary and they're concerned about how that affects how the administration deals with israel. >> he's going to have to address these questions and i'm sure he's going to say the right things at the confirmation hearing. he's going to have to deal with this. republicans are going to try to press his buttons to get him angry. that's what -- i'm sure he will be coached on don't get angry. >> peter: let's take a call at 1-866-55-press is our number. ted in chicago calling in on chuck hagel. ted, welcome to the show. >> caller: yes. i've been following chuck hagel's story on tv and i figure he did some awesome things over there in vietnam with his brother and stuff and i don't see the problem with him being confirmed. also, i want to comment on this

thing about his cabinet picks. i mean just because -- something about not enough women or something like that. how is that going to hurt him? is that going to hurt -- it's not like it will hurt his re-election chances or anything like that. >> peter: i don't know, ted. the inauguration hasn't happened yet. he's not president for a second term yet. >> caller: how is the press going to hurt him? >> peter: you never know, ted. thank you for the call. look if anybody doesn't realize -- i mean look. can you say binders full of women, anyone? having a varied cabinet is a reflection of where america stands. it is just how it is. republicans learned that lesson when the women came and voted for democrat barack obama in record numbers in the past election. so for you to have an all-white male cabinet, it is a problem. it is a problem for barack obama. >> the bigger problem here is an

optics problem. if you look at how president obama ran in 2008, hoy ran in 2012 he did so drawing from every corner of the american population. promising us hope and change. not just impact upper middle class people, that would be about more than that. now you have a cabinet that looks just about like every other cabinet from every other president we've seen. i think for a lot of people, the women who backed him voted in record numbers african-americans who voted in record numbers that, signals a problem that what was promised in 2008 is looking like more of the same as you go into this final four years of the obama presidency. >> it is something. the new nominees are the story right now. he obviously has -- some women in the cabinet. he's got kathleen sebelius and janet nap napolitano but the team so far has been white men. that's a problem for them. that's probably going to change real soon. >> peter: i think it's interesting yesterday when the administration confirmed that eric holder, kathleen sebelius were going to stay on as a second term, no mention of

napolitano in that list. dan, are we ready for the oscar nominations? >> we do have them. >> peter: oscar nominations we've been promising all morning. >> came in from hollywood. best actor nominees include daniel day-lewis denzel washington, hugh jackman bradley cooper and joakim phoenix. >> peter: daniel day-lewis will win that. >> best actress naomi watts jessica chastainer -- and the best picture nominees, beasts. southern wild, silver linings a playbook. zero dark thirty, lincoln, les miserables, life of pi, amore django unchained and argo.

>> that's a tough list. >> peter: i usually do like a cram session to see where we are. >> big names in the best supporting actress including sally field anne hathaway, jacki weaver, helen hunt and amy adams. >> fill ep seymour hoffman robert deniro, alan arkin tommy lee jones and christophe waltz for supporting actor. he wasn't supporting actor. it is a great movie. django unchained. i love quentin tarantino. they say the n word probably about 150 times. i had one of the weirdest movie experiences ever because i went with my wife. we went to go see django unchained. pretty full theatre. i notice that there were -- there was a large number of african-americans in the theatre and you don't know what to do because sometimes the "n" word is used to comedic effect. i sat there and i'm not going to

laugh. i don't think i should laugh at that. but -- i had to. it is maybe 20 minutes too long. argo is very good. very washington movie. of course "zero dark thirty" which comes out this weekend. >> what about reporters who said he wasn't impressed for it for entertainment value. it was good for the reporting but in terms of watching it for entertaining film, not too much. i'm pretty sure if i don't watch it, my boss will kick me out the door. >> peter: you have to go see it. they were saying that it got it right. it got the story mostly right. it just wasn't very entertaining. >> he could have walked out in the middle. it was too long for him. >> that's a tough one -- i've heard the same thing. it is good but not great perhaps. but you know the ending. >> peter: spoiler alert. they get bin laden. fascinating, hollywood the complete opposite direction of how they normally do things.

they normally get the story totally wrong and make it fascinating. they got the story totally right and it was boring. dan, do you know when the broadcast is for the oscars? >> end of february. >> peter: you said it so confident when you started the statement. i was like holy cow, he got it. nope. sometime in the next month. okay, thank you, dan for the oscar nominations. thank you very much juana summers, thank you very much bob cusack. "full court press." the "bill press show." going to take a quick break. we'll be right back. stay tuned. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show."

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>> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> peter: it is the "full court press." the "bill press show." i'm peter ogborn bringing you home here in the last segment of the show. filling in for bill who had a very scratchy voice. many thanks to all of our guests who came in today and many thanks to all of our tweeters and e-mailers and callers who gave bill lots of great advice for his scratchy throat. my personal favorite was the smoltz herring. >> unbelievable. >> peter: it is a fatty herring that they brine and then store in animal fat and someone said bill should take that and wrap it around his neck and that will help his throat. which means today i'm going to out to my local deli and will find a smoltz herring and bring it in tomorrow. >> don't you dare! >> peter: drape it around his

shoulders and walk away quickly. tomorrow we'll be talking oscar nominations and taking a look at "zero dark thirty" with chris orr plus "washington post" clinton yates will be joining us to talk about all things rgiii plus in case you didn't know, we're close to the inauguration. it is right around the corner! we'll talk about all of that plus recount joe biden's meeting with the nra and walmart today. it is going to be a big news day. we'll be right there covering it for you. make sure you tune in tomorrow. again, i'm peter ogborn sitting in for bill. thank you very much. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."